The technique I’ve first started with is copying an up-side-down drawing (see here for more). It is supposed to “cheat” your brain. So instead of drawing what you think you see you’re drawing what you’re actually seeing.

In other words, using this technique, you should be able to draw more accurate, closer to reality, more precise, more visual, like an artist… Ok, I’ll stop. I know you’ve got it: applying this technique you should be able to draw better. It’s starting to sound like a shampoo ad:” turn the drawing you want to copy up-side-down, draw it and go”.

However, as you’ve probably guessed it, theory is neater than the practice.

Cause what I’ve surprised myself doing after a while was sort of turning the respective drawing up side right… in my head…

Miss Edwards will probably argue that that is precisely the idea… that in time your visual abilities will get so developed that no cheating of the brain would be needed anymore… your visual abilities would be great anyways…

But I’ve been missing you and I’m happy the spring is back here. And that I’ve got some new little projects in my mind that I want to share with you.

The first one is learning to draw. And I’ve started with a book on “drawing on the right side of the brain” by Betty Edwards.

It’s quite something to see what you’re able to do when you:

1) find some time to do what you want to do;

2) don’t expect anything;

3) see things as they are instead of how you think they are suppose to be. In this respect, giving some consideration to the right side of the brain may help.

Have a look at the drawing above. It’s an upside-down drawing. Which means that I did the drawing while looking at a copy of the original which was printed upside down. My drawing was therefore also made upside down. I’ve only turned it right side up at the very end. That helped me switch my rational part of the brain off and activate more the visual part (the right side of the brain). That made me “un-aware” of what I was really doing (besides simply copying the lines I was seeing on the upside down copy). The outcome … you can see by yourself . I’m quite happy of it, as you can sense.

If you wish, give it a go. Turn any drawing upside-down and copy the lines you see.